Who should be captain?

“Okay, you tell me — who should be captained in T20s?” asked a person associated with Pakistan cricket during a friendly chat with me.
Without hesitation, I replied, “Sahin Shah Afridi.”
He replied, “The World Cup is so close now. If a change is made at this stage and, God forbid, the team is not performing well, then you will say ‘bring in a new captain’. That is not a solution. Constant changes do more harm than good.”
Hearing this, I said, “Salman Ali Agha is a nice, decent guy — that’s why he fits the board. That’s why he was given the captaincy. You can’t get Shaheen to take ‘favorable decisions’.”
Smiling, he said, “You are right that Salman is a simple man. He doesn’t get involved in groupings and listens to the board. But remember, he was made captain on the basis of his cricketing abilities — those are just additional qualities. Shaheen is also a good guy. If the PCB tells him something, you think he would be denied Shah’s role. Captain, if the officials didn’t like him, why would they?” they assign him this responsibility, I know you won’t be convinced, but I’m telling you the truth.
I replied, “I know what’s going through your mind. Salman’s performance is not great. He was made captain because it will be easier to replace him later. Shadab Khan is fit again and Mike Hesson wants to make him captain – they have worked together for years at Islamabad United.”
To this, I got the reply, “These are social media type theories. It doesn’t suit you to repeat them. Tell me one thing – is Hesson’s job guaranteed unless the team wins? Why would he prioritize personal preferences? Yes, he is friendly with Shadab, but it is not that simple to make him captain, when he came back from injury. Salman has good chemistry, it could continue when he comes back, ok.
After all this, it seems to me that Salman Ali Agha will be the captain of the World Cup. But with Pakistan cricket, nothing is ever certain – anything can happen. Until there is an official announcement, uncertainty will remain. Salman has performed well in Tests and ODIs, but his performance in T20s has not been outstanding, which is why his place in the team is often questioned. However, in the recent triangular series, he looked determined and even played good innings against Sri Lanka.
A great former captain once said something very insightful to me: “First pick your best eleven — then pick a captain from among them. If you bring in someone outside that eleven, you’re compromising for other reasons.”
Our cricketing ‘superstars’ have also betrayed each other. Some ex-players broke off relationships just to break the ‘player power’. There was a time when even the thought of removing a captain was forbidden. later, the same friends started hiding things from each other to win the captaincy.
It’s true that there is no “player power” anymore, but if you compare the teams of that era to today, there is a big difference. Babar Azam, once feared by bowlers, now lacks confidence and consistency. When the team is chasing a big total in T20s, he looks visibly tense. If he hadn’t been involved in the captaincy thing, would it have been the same?
Shaheen, on the other hand, will probably always feel that the very friends he was ready to stand up for were the ones who “betrayed” him. The British introduced the policy of “divide and rule” and it is still used in every field today.
Seeing all this, it seems that Salman Ali Agha is currently the best candidate for captaincy. He has not joined any group, his own position in the group is not always secure — so he is likely to remain under the control of the board. The good thing is that under his captaincy, the team has started producing positive results recently, both in tournaments and bilateral series.
The real question, however, is whether he can perform well in a high-pressure tournament like the World Cup. Maybe that’s what’s going through officials’ minds — that’s why there’s been no announcement yet. But time is running out. a decision should be made soon.
Let’s see what happens.
By the way, what do you think — should Salman remain the captain or should the responsibility go to Sandab or Shaheen? Don’t forget to share your opinion.